Wednesday, March 11, 2015

Interview: Suns Cinema, the Mt. Pleasant movie theater and bar who just launched a Kickstarter

A couple of weeks ago we heard about an awesome new plan for Mt. Pleasant Street NW: the folks behind Eastern Confederate, a salon on the street, were hoping to open a small indie movie theater, complete with a bar.

They just launched their Kickstarter yesterday, hoping to raise $12,500 for furnishings, movies, equipment and permits or fees. There's also a funny video about the idea, with a mock Ikea catalog full of things they need.

We asked Ryan Hunter Mitchell, who is starting the project with friend David Cabrera, a few questions about it -- and it sounds awesome. Here's what he had to say.

How did you come up with this idea?

David and I have been thinking about this for a couple years. He used to host these film nights where he would project odd movies on the wall of a living room and everyone would bring a botlle of wine and sit on the floor to watch. We just thought, how can we do this more often in a real space? Can you tell us about the interior, vibe, drinks etc?

We’re planning on an art deco interior. Old Hollywood regency wall sconces, eclectic seating. We really wanna play up the existing detail of the old building, like brightening up the moulding and wainscotting. The drinks will be centered around a strong craft beer list. We’d like to rotate interesting beers like sours and belgian ales, but also have solid session lagers and IPAs. Instead of a long cocktail list we’ll have a short list of 3 to 4 drinks at a time. These will be influenced by seasonal ingredients and loosely themed on the programming for the month.

Will there be food?

Popcorn, and TV dinners. We are working on collaborating with local chefs to host occasional pairings with movies. We’d be interested to see different takes on “concessions” from chefs.

What kind of movies do you plan to show?

These will vary quite a bit, everything from Italian Neo Realismo and French Film Nouveau to 70s buddy comedies and 80s Punk documentaries. [Note: There's a sample movie roster below, from the Kickstarter.]